Vehicle-mounted antenna system

ABSTRACT

A vehicle-mounted antenna system according to the present invention comprises: a first antenna system in which a plurality of first antenna elements disposed in a structure mounted on a vehicle perform multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO); and a second antenna system in which a plurality of second antenna elements attached to a side surface of a polyhedron disposed in the structure perform beamforming, wherein the disposed plurality of first antenna elements are formed, in the front and back of the polyhedron, on a substrate erected at a predetermined angle to the structure, and thus, the present invention may provide an antenna array optimized in terms of spacing between antenna elements in a flat-type vehicle antenna provided with an LTE antenna system and a 5G antenna system.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an antenna system loaded in a vehicle,and more particularly, to an antenna system loaded in a vehicle forproviding communication services by transmitting and receiving aplurality of communication signals.

BACKGROUND

Terminals may be divided into mobile/portable devices and stationarydevices according to mobility. Also, the mobile terminals may beclassified into handheld types and vehicle mount types according towhether or not a user can directly carry.

Functions of mobile terminals have been diversified. Examples of suchfunctions include data and voice communications, capturing images andvideo via a camera, recording audio, playing music files via a speakersystem, and displaying images and video on a display unit. Some mobileterminals include additional functionality which supports electronicgame playing, while other terminals are configured as multimediaplayers. Specifically, in recent time, mobile terminals can receivebroadcast and multicast signals to allow viewing of video or televisionprograms

As it becomes multifunctional, a mobile terminal can be allowed tocapture still images or moving images, play music or video files, playgames, receive broadcast and the like, so as to be implemented as anintegrated multimedia player.

Efforts are ongoing to support and increase the functionality of mobileterminals. Such efforts include software and hardware improvements, aswell as changes and improvements in the structural components.

In recent years, there is an increasing need to provide communicationservices and multimedia services by mounting such mobile terminals invehicles. Meanwhile, there is a need for a fifth generation (5G)communication service, which is a next generation communication service,as well as existing communication services such as LTE (Long TermEvolution) and the like in relation to communication services.

In this regard, discussion on the specification of the 5G communicationservice has not been completed, and an antenna system and acommunication system for realizing such a service in the vehicle havenot been discussed. In addition, a detailed method for implementing aflat antenna in relation to a method of loading a vehicle antenna systemin a vehicle has not been presented.

On the other hand, when the antenna system is disposed at the flatantenna, it is not easy to arrange other types of antennas other than anarrow-band antenna, such as a patch antenna. Further, in case where aconfiguration including an antenna is disposed within a radome in avertically erected manner, it cannot be provided in the form of a flatantenna.

However, as described above, if a structure like the related art sharktype antenna is used as it is for using another type of antenna, thereis a problem that a height is increased.

In such a plurality of communication systems and a plurality of antennasystems, when an antenna of a 4G communication system such as LTE and anantenna of a 5G communication system are arranged, isolation consideringinterference between them is important. In this regard, it isparticularly important in LTE re-farming in which an antenna of a 5Gcommunication system operates in a sub-6 band of 6 GHz or less orpartially uses a frequency band of a 4G communication system. Therefore,there is a problem in that a method of ensuring sufficient isolationbetween antennas of a plurality of communication systems, inconsideration of their sizes loadable in a vehicle, has not beenspecifically presented.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present invention is to provide an antenna arrangementstructure with a reduced mutual interference characteristic and anoptimized size, in a flat vehicle antenna which is capable of providingnext generation communication services as well as existing mobilecommunication services.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an antennaarrangement structure in a shark fin-shaped structure and a telematicstype structure, in a vehicle antenna system having a plurality ofantennas providing a plurality of communication services.

An antenna system loaded in a vehicle according to the present inventionincludes a first antenna system having a plurality of first antennaelements disposed within a structure mounted in the vehicle, to performMulti Input Multi Output (MIMO), and a second antenna system having aplurality of second antenna elements attached to side surfaces of apolyhedron disposed within the structure, to perform beamforming,wherein the plurality of first antenna elements is provided onsubstrates, erected on the structure by predetermined angles, at frontand rear sides of the polyhedron, whereby an antenna arrangementstructure with an optimized isolation characteristic among antennaelements can be provided in a flat vehicle antenna having an LTE antennasystem and a 5G antenna system.

According to one embodiment, the structure may be configured as a sharkfin-shaped radome.

According to one embodiment, the plurality of second antenna elementsmay include first to fourth array antennas attached to four sidesurfaces of the polyhedron. At this time, the first to fourth arrayantennas may operate to transmit or receive a second signal in a fifthgeneration (5G) communication system.

According to one embodiment, the polyhedron may have first and secondside surfaces that are arranged to form a first angle as a predeterminedangle in left and right directions with respect to one point of asymmetric line of a bottom surface of the structure. On the other hand,the polyhedron may have third and fourth side surfaces that are arrangedto form a second angle as a predetermined angle in the left and rightdirections with respect to another point of the symmetric line. At thistime, the first to fourth array antennas may be disposed on the first tofourth side surfaces.

According to one embodiment, the first side surface and the second sidesurface may have a first interface formed therebetween, and the thirdside surface and the fourth side surface may have a second interfaceformed therebetween. At this time, the first interface may have a widthwider than a width of a first substrate perpendicularly erected on thestructure at the front of the polyhedron, and the second interface mayhave a width wider than a width of a second substrate perpendicularlyerected on the structure at the rear of the polyhedron.

According to one embodiment, the first angle may be determined inconsideration of interference with a first long-term evolution (LTE)antenna attached to the first substrate, and the second angle may bedetermined in consideration of interference with a second LTE antennaattached to the second substrate.

According to one embodiment, the antenna system may further include asatellite broadcasting (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting; DMB) antennaattached to a third substrate perpendicularly erected on the structurebetween the first LTE antenna and the polyhedron.

According to one embodiment, the system may further include an FMreceiving antenna attached to a fourth substrate perpendicularly erectedon the structure between the second LTE antenna and the polyhedron.

According to one embodiment, a GPS antenna may be disposed at the frontof the satellite broadcasting (DMB) antenna. At this time, the GPSantenna may be a patch antenna printed on a substrate disposed on abottom surface of the structure.

According to one embodiment, the system may further include a pluralityof third antenna elements disposed on a plurality of substrates,respectively, perpendicularly erected on the structure with being spacedapart from the four side surfaces of the polyhedron by predetermineddistances.

According to one embodiment, the plurality of second antenna elementsmay be first to fourth array antennas operating in a millimeter wave(mmWave) band. On the other hand, the plurality of third antennaelements may be first to fourth sub-6 antennas operating in a sub-6 bandof 6 GHz or less.

According to one embodiment, the first to fourth sub-6 antennas maytransmit or receive a first signal in a first communication system as anLTE communication system in a first frequency band. In addition, thefirst to fourth sub-6 antennas may transmit or receive a second signalin a second communication system as a 5G communication system in asecond frequency band different from the first frequency band.

According to one embodiment, the plurality of substrates on which thefirst to fourth sub-6 antennas are provided may be disposed in a mannerthat outermost portions thereof are disposed on a bottom surface of thestructure in a shape of a shark fin within the structure.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan antenna system loaded in a vehicle, the system including a firstantenna system having a plurality of first antenna elements disposedwithin a first structure mounted in the vehicle, to transmit or receivea first signal, and a second antenna system having a plurality of secondantenna elements disposed in a second structure to which the firststructure is attached, to transmit or receive a second signal, andwherein the plurality of first antenna elements are provided onsubstrates, erected on the structure by predetermined angles, at frontand rear sides of the polyhedron.

According to one embodiment, the first structure may be configured as ashark fin-shaped radome, and the second structure may be provided with acoupling portion to which the shark fin-shaped radome is attached.

According to one embodiment, the plurality of second antenna elements asfirst to fourth array antennas may be disposed in a flat structure ofthe second structure. At this time, the first to fourth array antennasmay operate to transmit or receive a second signal through beamformingin a fifth generation (5G) communication system.

According to one embodiment, a first substrate on which the firstantenna element is printed may be disposed perpendicularly on a bottomsurface of the first structure within the first structure. At this time,the first substrate and the second substrate may be disposed in alengthwise direction of the first structure so as to minimize a width ofthe first structure.

According to one embodiment, the system may further include a satellitebroadcasting (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting; DMB) antenna attached toa third substrate perpendicularly erected on the first structure at thefront of the first antenna element, and an FM receiving antenna attachedto a fourth substrate perpendicularly erected on the first structure atthe rear of the first antenna element.

According to one embodiment, a GPS antenna may be disposed at the frontof the satellite broadcasting (DMB) antenna. In this case, the GPSantenna may be a patch antenna printed on a substrate disposed on abottom surface of the first structure.

According to one embodiment, the shark fin-shaped radome may include abase radome coupled to the bottom surface of the first structure, and anupper radome formed integrally with the base radome and having a curvedshape to accommodate a polyhedral structure therein. Also, the baseradome and the upper radome may include a flat portion formed in a flatshape at a central portion thereof to prevent scattering of radio wavesin the vicinity of the central portion.

Hereinafter, effects of an antenna system loaded in a vehicle and amethod of controlling the same according to the present invention willbe described.

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, there isan advantage in that an optimized antenna arrangement structure can beprovided within a shark fin-shaped structure of a plurality of antennasystems.

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, anoptimized antenna arrangement structure which appropriately utilizes ashark fin-shaped structure and a telematics-type structure can beprovided in a flat vehicle antenna having an LTE antenna system and a 5Gantenna system.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the detailed description and specificexamples, such as the preferred embodiment of the invention, are givenby way of illustration only, since various changes and modificationswithin the spirit and scope of the invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a structure for mounting an antenna systemin a vehicle, in a mobile terminal having the antenna system loaded inthe vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a vehicle in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a detailed configuration of an antennasystem including a communication module and an antenna module accordingto the present invention.

FIGS. 4A to 4C are views illustrating an internal structure of anantenna system loaded in a vehicle according to the present invention.

FIGS. 5A to 5C are views illustrating an antenna system and a radomestructure in accordance with various embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an antenna system loaded in a vehiclehaving a plurality of structures in accordance with various embodimentsof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Description will now be given in detail according to exemplaryembodiments disclosed herein, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. For the sake of brief description with reference to thedrawings, the same or equivalent components may be provided with thesame or similar reference numbers, and description thereof will not berepeated. In general, a suffix such as “module” and “unit” may be usedto refer to elements or components. Use of such a suffix herein ismerely intended to facilitate description of the specification, and thesuffix itself is not intended to give any special meaning or function.In describing the present disclosure, if a detailed explanation for arelated known function or construction is considered to unnecessarilydivert the gist of the present disclosure, such explanation has beenomitted but would be understood by those skilled in the art. Theaccompanying drawings are used to help easily understand the technicalidea of the present disclosure and it should be understood that the ideaof the present disclosure is not limited by the accompanying drawings.The idea of the present disclosure should be construed to extend to anyalterations, equivalents and substitutes besides the accompanyingdrawings.

It will be understood that although the terms first, second, etc. may beused herein to describe various elements, these elements should not belimited by these terms. These terms are generally only used todistinguish one element from another.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being“connected with” another element, the element can be connected with theanother element or intervening elements may also be present. Incontrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connectedwith” another element, there are no intervening elements present.

A singular representation may include a plural representation unless itrepresents a definitely different meaning from the context.

Terms such as “include” or “has” are used herein and should beunderstood that they are intended to indicate an existence of severalcomponents, functions or steps, disclosed in the specification, and itis also understood that greater or fewer components, functions, or stepsmay likewise be utilized.

The mobile terminal described in this specification may include a mobileterminal mounted in a vehicle. Examples of the mobile terminal disclosedherein may include cellular phones, smart phones, laptop computers,digital broadcast terminals, personal digital assistants (PDAs),portable multimedia players (PMPs), navigators, slate PCs, tablet PCs,ultra books, wearable devices (for example, smart watches, smartglasses, head mounted displays (HMDs), etc.), and the like, which can beused in the vehicle if necessary.

On the other hand, the mobile terminal disclosed in this specificationmainly refers to a vehicle terminal implemented by an antenna systemmounted in a vehicle, but may also include a mobile terminal (electronicdevice) located inside a vehicle or possessed by a user aboard thevehicle.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a structure for mounting an antenna systemin a vehicle in a mobile terminal having the antenna system loaded inthe vehicle. In this regard, (a) of FIG. 1 shows a configuration inwhich the antenna system 1000 is loaded on a roof of the vehicle. On theother hand, (b) of FIG. 1 shows a structure in which the antenna system1000 is loaded in a roof of a vehicle.

Referring to FIG. 1, in order to improve the appearance of the vehicleand to maintain a telematics performance at the time of collision, anexisting shark fin antenna is replaced with a flat antenna of anon-protruding shape. In addition, the present invention proposes anintegrated antenna of an LTE antenna and a 5G millimeter wave (mmWave)antenna considering fifth generation (5G) communication after 2020,while providing the existing mobile communication service (e.g., LTE).In this regard, the LTE antenna may be an LTE 4×4 MIMO (Multi-InputMulti-Output) antenna. In addition, the present invention proposes apackage type antenna for enhancing durability of a patch antenna mountedinside from an impact.

Referring to (a) of FIG. 1, the antenna system 1000 is configured as ahexahedral structure and is disposed on a roof of the vehicle. In (a) ofFIG. 1, a radome 2000 a for protecting the antenna system 1000 from anexternal environment and external shocks while the vehicle travels maycover the antenna system 1000. The radome 2000 a may be made of adielectric material through which radio signals are transmitted/receivedbetween the antenna system 1000 and a base station.

Referring to (b) of FIG. 1, the antenna system 1000 may be disposedwithin a roof structure of the vehicle, and at least part of the roofstructure may be made of a non-metallic material. At this time, the atleast part of the roof structure 2000 b of the vehicle may be realizedby a non-metallic material, and may be made of a dielectric materialthrough which radio signals are transmitted/received between the antennasystem 1000 and the base station.

Meanwhile, the antenna system 1000 may be installed on a front or rearsurface of the vehicle depending on applications other than the roofstructure of the vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a vehicle in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a vehicle 100 may include wheelsturning by a driving force, and a steering apparatus 510 for adjusting adriving (ongoing, moving) direction of the vehicle 100.

The vehicle 100 may be an autonomous vehicle.

The vehicle 100 may be switched into an autonomous mode or a manual modebased on a user input.

For example, the vehicle may be converted from the manual mode into theautonomous mode or from the autonomous mode into the manual mode basedon a user input received through a user interface apparatus 200.

The vehicle 100 may be switched into the autonomous mode or the manualmode based on driving environment information. The driving environmentinformation may be generated based on object information provided froman object detecting apparatus 300.

For example, the vehicle 100 may be switched from the manual mode intothe autonomous mode or from the autonomous module into the manual modebased on driving environment information generated in the objectdetecting apparatus 300.

In an example, the vehicle 100 may be switched from the manual mode intothe autonomous mode or from the autonomous module into the manual modebased on driving environment information received through acommunication apparatus 400.

The vehicle 100 may be switched from the manual mode into the autonomousmode or from the autonomous module into the manual mode based oninformation, data or signal provided from an external device.

When the vehicle 100 is driven in the autonomous mode, the autonomousvehicle 100 may be driven based on an operation system 700.

For example, the autonomous vehicle 100 may be driven based oninformation, data or signal generated in a driving system 710, a parkingexit system 740 and a parking system 750.

When the vehicle 100 is driven in the manual mode, the autonomousvehicle 100 may receive a user input for driving through a drivingcontrol apparatus 500. The vehicle 100 may be driven based on the userinput received through the driving control apparatus 500.

An overall length refers to a length from a front end to a rear end ofthe vehicle 100, a width refers to a width of the vehicle 100, and aheight refers to a length from a bottom of a wheel to a roof. In thefollowing description, an overall-length direction L may refer to adirection which is a criterion for measuring the overall length of thevehicle 100, a width direction W may refer to a direction that is acriterion for measuring a width of the vehicle 100, and a heightdirection H may refer to a direction that is a criterion for measuring aheight of the vehicle 100.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the vehicle 100 may include a user interfaceapparatus 200, an object detecting apparatus 300, a communicationapparatus 400, a driving control apparatus 500, a vehicle operatingapparatus 600, an operation system 700, a navigation system 770, asensing unit 120, an interface unit 130, a memory 140, a controller 170and a power supply unit 190.

According to embodiments, the vehicle 100 may include more components inaddition to components to be explained in this specification or may notinclude some of those components to be explained in this specification.

The user interface apparatus 200 is an apparatus for communicationbetween the vehicle 100 and a user. The user interface apparatus 200 mayreceive a user input and provide information generated in the vehicle100 to the user. The vehicle 200 may implement user interfaces (UIs) oruser experiences (UXs) through the user interface apparatus 200.

The object detecting apparatus 300 is an apparatus for detecting anobject located at outside of the vehicle 100.

The object may be a variety of objects associated with driving(operation) of the vehicle 100.

Meanwhile, objects may be classified into a moving object and a fixedobject. For example, the moving object may be a concept includinganother vehicle and a pedestrian. The fixed object may be a conceptincluding a traffic signal, a road and a structure, for example.

The object detecting apparatus 300 may include a camera 310, a radar320, a LiDAR 330, an ultrasonic sensor 340, an infrared sensor 350 and aprocessor 370.

According to an embodiment, the object detecting apparatus 300 mayfurther include other components in addition to the componentsdescribed, or may not include some of the components described.

The camera 310 may be located on an appropriate portion outside thevehicle to acquire an external image of the vehicle. The camera 310 maybe a mono camera, a stereo camera 310 a, an around view monitoring (AVM)camera 310 b or a 360-degree camera.

For example, the camera 310 may be disposed adjacent to a frontwindshield within the vehicle to acquire a front image of the vehicle.Or, the camera 310 may be disposed adjacent to a front bumper or aradiator grill.

For example, the camera 310 may be disposed adjacent to a rear glasswithin the vehicle to acquire a rear image of the vehicle. Or, thecamera 310 may be disposed adjacent to a rear bumper, a trunk or a tailgate.

For example, the camera 310 may be disposed adjacent to at least one ofside windows within the vehicle to acquire a side image of the vehicle.Or, the camera 310 may be disposed adjacent to a side mirror, a fenderor a door.

The camera 310 may provide an acquired image to the processor 370.

The radar 320 may include electric wave transmitting and receivingportions. The radar 320 may be implemented as a pulse radar or acontinuous wave radar according to a principle of emitting electricwaves. The radar 320 may be implemented in a frequency modulatedcontinuous wave (FMCW) manner or a frequency shift Keyong (FSK) manneraccording to a signal waveform, among the continuous wave radar methods.

The radar 320 may detect an object in a time of flight (TOF) manner or aphase-shift manner through the medium of the electric wave, and detect aposition of the detected object, a distance from the detected object anda relative speed with the detected object.

The radar 320 may be disposed on an appropriate position outside thevehicle for detecting an object which is located at a front, rear orside of the vehicle.

The LiDAR 330 may include laser transmitting and receiving portions. TheLiDAR 330 may be implemented in a time of flight (TOF) manner or aphase-shift manner.

The LiDAR 330 may be implemented as a drive type or a non-drive type.

For the drive type, the LiDAR 330 may be rotated by a motor and detectobject near the vehicle 100.

For the non-drive type, the LiDAR 330 may detect, through lightsteering, objects which are located within a predetermined range basedon the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 may include a plurality of non-drivetype LiDARs 330.

The LiDAR 330 may detect an object in a TOP manner or a phase-shiftmanner through the medium of a laser beam, and detect a position of thedetected object, a distance from the detected object and a relativespeed with the detected object.

The LiDAR 330 may be disposed on an appropriate position outside thevehicle for detecting an object located at the front, rear or side ofthe vehicle.

The ultrasonic sensor 340 may include ultrasonic wave transmitting andreceiving portions. The ultrasonic sensor 340 may detect an object basedon an ultrasonic wave, and detect a position of the detected object, adistance from the detected object and a relative speed with the detectedobject.

The ultrasonic sensor 340 may be disposed on an appropriate positionoutside the vehicle for detecting an object located at the front, rearor side of the vehicle.

The infrared sensor 350 may include infrared light transmitting andreceiving portions. The infrared sensor 340 may detect an object basedon infrared light, and detect a position of the detected object, adistance from the detected object and a relative speed with the detectedobject.

The infrared sensor 350 may be disposed on an appropriate positionoutside the vehicle for detecting an object located at the front, rearor side of the vehicle.

The processor 370 may control an overall operation of each unit of theobject detecting apparatus 300.

The processor 370 may detect an object based on an acquired image, andtrack the object. The processor 370 may execute operations, such as acalculation of a distance from the object, a calculation of a relativespeed with the object and the like, through an image processingalgorithm.

The processor 370 may detect an object based on a reflectedelectromagnetic wave which an emitted electromagnetic wave is reflectedfrom the object, and track the object. The processor 370 may executeoperations, such as a calculation of a distance from the object, acalculation of a relative speed with the object and the like, based onthe electromagnetic wave.

The processor 370 may detect an object based on a reflected laser beamwhich an emitted laser beam is reflected from the object, and track theobject. The processor 370 may execute operations, such as a calculationof a distance from the object, a calculation of a relative speed withthe object and the like, based on the laser beam.

The processor 370 may detect an object based on a reflected ultrasonicwave which an emitted ultrasonic wave is reflected from the object, andtrack the object. The processor 370 may execute operations, such as acalculation of a distance from the object, a calculation of a relativespeed with the object and the like, based on the ultrasonic wave.

The processor may detect an object based on reflected infrared lightwhich emitted infrared light is reflected from the object, and track theobject. The processor 370 may execute operations, such as a calculationof a distance from the object, a calculation of a relative speed withthe object and the like, based on the infrared light.

According to an embodiment, the object detecting apparatus 300 mayinclude a plurality of processors 370 or may not include any processor370. For example, each of the camera 310, the radar 320, the LiDAR 330,the ultrasonic sensor 340 and the infrared sensor 350 may include theprocessor in an individual manner.

When the processor 370 is not included in the object detecting apparatus300, the object detecting apparatus 300 may operate according to thecontrol of a processor of an apparatus within the vehicle 100 or thecontroller 170.

The object detecting apparatus 400 may operate according to the controlof the controller 170.

The communication apparatus 400 is an apparatus for performingcommunication with an external device. Here, the external device may beanother vehicle, a mobile terminal or a server.

The communication apparatus 400 may perform the communication byincluding at least one of a transmitting antenna, a receiving antenna,and radio frequency (RF) circuit and RF device for implementing variouscommunication protocols.

The communication apparatus 400 may include a short-range communicationunit 410, a location information unit 420, a V2X communication unit 430,an optical communication unit 440, a broadcast transceiver 450 and aprocessor 470.

According to an embodiment, the communication apparatus 400 may furtherinclude other components in addition to the components described, or maynot include some of the components described.

The short-range communication unit 410 is a unit for facilitatingshort-range communications. Suitable technologies for implementing suchshort-range communications include BLUETOOTH™, Radio FrequencyIDentification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra-WideBand(UWB), ZigBee, Near Field Communication (NFC), Wireless-Fidelity(Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Direct, Wireless USB (Wireless Universal Serial Bus), andthe like.

The short-range communication unit 410 may construct short-range areanetworks to perform short-range communication between the vehicle 100and at least one external device.

The location information unit 420 is a unit for acquiring positioninformation. For example, the location information unit 420 may includea Global Positioning System (GPS) module or a Differential GlobalPositioning System (DGPS) module.

The V2X communication unit 430 is a unit for performing wirelesscommunications with a server (Vehicle to Infra; V2I), another vehicle(Vehicle to Vehicle; V2V), or a pedestrian (Vehicle to Pedestrian; V2P).The V2X communication unit 430 may include an RF circuit implementing acommunication protocol with the infra (V2I), a communication protocolbetween the vehicles (V2V) and a communication protocol with apedestrian (V2P).

The optical communication unit 440 is a unit for performingcommunication with an external device through the medium of light. Theoptical communication unit 440 may include a light-emitting diode forconverting an electric signal into an optical signal and sending theoptical signal to the exterior, and a photodiode for converting thereceived optical signal into an electric signal.

According to an embodiment, the light-emitting diode may be integratedwith lamps provided on the vehicle 100.

The broadcast transceiver 450 is a unit for receiving a broadcast signalfrom an external broadcast managing entity or transmitting a broadcastsignal to the broadcast managing entity via a broadcast channel. Thebroadcast channel may include a satellite channel, a terrestrialchannel, or both. The broadcast signal may include a TV broadcastsignal, a radio broadcast signal and a data broadcast signal.

The wireless communication unit 460 is a unit that performs wirelesscommunications with one or more communication systems through one ormore antenna systems. The wireless communication unit 460 may transmitand/or receive a signal to and/or from a device in a first communicationsystem through a first antenna system. In addition, the wirelesscommunication unit 460 may transmit and/or receive a signal to and/orfrom a device in a second communication system through a second antennasystem.

The processor 470 may control an overall operation of each unit of thecommunication apparatus 400.

According to an embodiment, the communication apparatus 400 may includea plurality of processors 470 or may not include any processor 470.

When the processor 470 is not included in the communication apparatus400, the communication apparatus 400 may operate according to thecontrol of a processor of another device within the vehicle 100 or thecontroller 170.

Meanwhile, the communication apparatus 400 may implement a displayapparatus for a vehicle together with the user interface apparatus 200.In this instance, the display apparatus for the vehicle may be referredto as a telematics apparatus or an Audio Video Navigation (AVN)apparatus.

The communication apparatus 400 may operate according to the control ofthe controller 170.

The sensing unit 120 may sense a status of the vehicle. The sensing unit120 may include a posture sensor (e.g., a yaw sensor, a roll sensor, apitch sensor, etc.), a collision sensor, a wheel sensor, a speed sensor,a tilt sensor, a weight-detecting sensor, a heading sensor, a gyrosensor, a position module, a vehicle forward/backward movement sensor, abattery sensor, a fuel sensor, a tire sensor, a steering sensor by aturn of a handle, a vehicle internal temperature sensor, a vehicleinternal humidity sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an illumination sensor,an accelerator position sensor, a brake pedal position sensor, and thelike.

The sensing unit 120 may acquire sensing signals with respect tovehicle-related information, such as a posture, a collision, anorientation, a position (GPS information), an angle, a speed, anacceleration, a tilt, a forward/backward movement, a battery, a fuel,tires, lamps, internal temperature, internal humidity, a rotated angleof a steering wheel, external illumination, pressure applied to anaccelerator, pressure applied to a brake pedal and the like.

The sensing unit 120 may further include an accelerator sensor, apressure sensor, an engine speed sensor, an air flow sensor (AFS), anair temperature sensor (ATS), a water temperature sensor (WTS), athrottle position sensor (TPS), a TDC sensor, a crank angle sensor(CAS), and the like.

The interface unit 130 may serve as a path allowing the vehicle 100 tointerface with various types of external devices connected thereto. Forexample, the interface unit 130 may be provided with a port connectablewith a mobile terminal, and connected to the mobile terminal through theport. In this instance, the interface unit 130 may exchange data withthe mobile terminal.

Meanwhile, the interface unit 130 may serve as a path for supplyingelectric energy to the connected mobile terminal. When the mobileterminal is electrically connected to the interface unit 130, theinterface unit 130 supplies electric energy supplied from a power supplyunit 190 to the mobile terminal according to the control of thecontroller 170.

The memory 140 is electrically connected to the controller 170. Thememory 140 may store basic data for units, control data for controllingoperations of units and input/output data. The memory 140 may be avariety of storage devices, such as ROM, RAM, EPROM, a flash drive, ahard drive and the like in a hardware configuration. The memory 140 maystore various data for overall operations of the vehicle 100, such asprograms for processing or controlling the controller 170.

According to embodiments, the memory 140 may be integrated with thecontroller 170 or implemented as a sub component of the controller 170.

The controller 170 may control an overall operation of each unit of thevehicle 100. The controller 170 may be referred to as an ElectronicControl Unit (ECU).

The power supply unit 190 may supply power required for an operation ofeach component according to the control of the controller 170.Specifically, the power supply unit 190 may receive power supplied froman internal battery of the vehicle, and the like.

At least one processor and the controller 170 included in the vehicle100 may be implemented using at least one of application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digitalsignal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs),field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, and electric units performing otherfunctions.

The vehicle 100 related to the present invention can operate in any oneof a manual driving mode and an autonomous driving mode. That is, thedriving modes of the vehicle 100 may include the manual driving mode andthe autonomous driving mode.

Meanwhile, FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a detailed configuration of anantenna system including a communication module and an antenna moduleaccording to the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the antenna system 1000 includes first andsecond communication systems (or first and second antenna systems) 1100and 1200, which are each coupled to a communication system 1300. Here,the communication system 1300 may be referred to as a telematics moduleor a communication module. Meanwhile, the communication system 1300 maybe related to the communication device 400 illustrated in FIG. 2, morespecifically, the wireless communication unit 460. The communicationsystem 1300 may operate based on information input from the userinterface apparatus 200 and may display information received through thecommunication system 1300 on the user interface apparatus 200.

In addition, the communication system 1300 may control the objectdetection apparatus 300 to perform a specific operation, and may operatebased on information received from the object detection apparatus 300.

Meanwhile, a link connection state between the first and second antennasystems 1100 and 1200 will be described below. According to oneembodiment, the first communication system 1100 and the secondcommunication system 1200 may be configured to maintain a dualconnectivity state. At this time, a first signal may be received fromthe second communication system 1100 when a second signal is notreceived from the second communication system 1200. That is, since thefirst communication system 200 always maintains the connection stateeven when a link connection with a base station is released in thesecond communication system 1200, the second signal may be received fromthe second communication system 1200. According to another embodiment,when the link connection through the second communication system 1200 isreleased, a fall back mode in which a connection with the firstcommunication system 1100 is initiated is also be activated. Here, thefirst and second communication systems may be an LTE communicationsystem and a 5G communication system, respectively, but are not limitedthereto and can be freely changed according to applications.

The first antenna system 1100 may be configured to exchange radiosignals with existing mobile communication systems (2G/3G/4G) andinclude a plurality of antenna elements 1110. The first antenna system1100 may operate in a MIMO mode to receive a plurality of stream signalsfrom a base station via the plurality of antenna elements. In thisregard, the plurality of antennas may be two or four antennas, and thefirst antenna system 1100 may support 2×2 and 4×4 MIMO modes. In thiscase, the 2×2 and 4×4 MIMO modes correspond to a case where one terminal(vehicle) receives two stream signals and four stream signalstransmitted from the base station, respectively. As described above, acase where a single terminal (vehicle) receives a plurality of streamsfrom a base station may be referred to as a single user (SU)-MIMO mode.On the other hand, a case where a plurality of terminals (vehicles)receives the plurality of streams, respectively, may be referred to asan MU-MIMO mode. In order to support the SU-MIMO mode, the secondantenna system 1200 must include a plurality of antenna elements.

The second antenna system 1200 may include 1210, a power amplifier 1220,a low noise amplifier (LNA) 1230, and a phase shifter 1240. On the otherhand, the second antenna system 1200 may be configured to operate in afrequency band of 28 GHz, a frequency band of 20, 30, 60 GHz, or a sub-6frequency band below 6 GHz.

The antenna 1210 may be disposed on a dielectric substrate in the formof a patch antenna. For example, the patch antenna 110 may beimplemented in the form of a microstrip in which a radiating element anda ground plane are disposed on a top surface and a bottom surface of adielectric substrate, respectively.

In the case of being configured as the array antenna of the secondantenna system 1200, phase values applied to each element of the arrayantenna are controlled through the phase shifter 1240 to performbeamforming (beam-scanning). For example, the beamforming may beperformed within a specific angular range in an azimuth direction and anelevation direction. In this regard, the second antenna system maygenerate a null pattern of a beam in an interference signal directionwhile performing beamforming in a desired direction of the azimuth andelevation directions according to the change of the phase values by thephase shifter 1240. Meanwhile, the antenna 1210 may operate as a singleantenna element by applying power only to one of the plurality ofantenna elements of the array antenna.

That is, in relation to the antenna 1210, the configuration of the arrayantenna and the single antenna element may be variably configuredaccording to power-on/off and a circuit configuration capable ofsupporting it. Therefore, when the signal level (orsignal-to-interference ratio) is sufficient by virtue of a sufficientlyclose distance with the base station or another communication targetdevice, the patch antenna 110 is variably configured as a single antennaelement. On the other hand, when the signal level (orsignal-to-interference ratio) is not sufficient, the antenna 1210 isvariably configured as an array antenna.

The antenna 1210 may operate simultaneously as a transmission antennafor radiating a transmission signal from the power amplifier 1220 into afree space and a reception antenna for transferring a reception signalfrom the free space to the low noise amplifier 1230. Accordingly, theantenna 1210 is configured to operate in both a transmission frequencyband and a reception frequency band.

The power amplifier 1220 amplifies a signal from a 5G RF IC andtransmits the signal through the patch antenna 100. In this regard, thepower amplifier 120 may include a frequency up-converter that receivesan intermediate frequency (IF) band signal from the 5G RF IC andconverts the received signal into a radio frequency (RF) band signal.

The low noise amplifier 1230 performs low-noise amplification for asignal received through the antenna 1210 and transmits the amplifiedsignal to the 5G RF IC. In this regard, the low-noise amplifier 1230 mayinclude a frequency down-converter that downwardly converts the RFsignal of 28 GHz to an IF signal.

On the other hand, when the patch antenna 1210 is configured as an arrayantenna, the phase shifter 1240 is configured to apply a different phaseto each of the elements of the array antenna. In this regard, the phaseshifter 1240 is configured to operate in both the transmission frequencyband and the reception frequency band. The phase shifter 1240 may adjusta phase in an analog or digital manner. In this regard, the phaseshifter 1240 may receive a control signal for a phase control from the5G BB IC. Also, since an insertion loss is caused due to an internalelement, the phase shifter 1240 may control a phase of a signal receivedfrom the low-noise amplifier 1230. That is, the phase shifter 1240 mayperform the phase control for the signal received in the second antennasystem 1200 after the low-noise amplification of the signal through thelow-noise amplifier 1230.

The communication system 1300 includes an LTE system which is interfacedwith the first antenna system 1100, and a 5G RF IC which is interfacedwith the second antenna system 1200. Meanwhile, the LTE system mayinclude a 3G system to support 3G WCDMA fallback or a 2G system. At thistime, the first antenna system 1100 may be interfaced with the LTEsystem through an RF cable or a coaxial cable.

In addition, the communication system 1300 may further include a 5G BB(Base Band) IC, an USIM, and an LPDDR4. Here, the 5G BB IC exchangesbaseband signals with the first and second communication systems 1100and 1200. Here, the 5G BB IC may be interfaced with the 5G RF IC througha 2×MPHY interface, and may be interfaced with the LTE system through aPCIe 1.0 interface. The USIM and the LPDDR4 correspond to a mobilecommunication user identification module and a memory, respectively.

Meanwhile, since the first antenna system 1100 operates in a lowerfrequency band than the second antenna system 1200, a wider arrangementinterval is required for an independent operation between antennaelements. This is because isolation between the antenna elements isparticularly important for operating the antenna elements in the MIMOmode.

Meanwhile, FIGS. 4A to 4C are views illustrating an internal structureof an antenna system loaded in a vehicle according to the presentinvention. In detail, FIG. 4A is a left side view showing one sidesurface on which a plurality of antennas of an antenna system loaded ina vehicle according to the present invention are disposed. On the otherhand, FIG. 4B is a front view showing one side surface on which theplurality of antennas of the antenna system loaded in the vehicleaccording to the present invention are disposed.

Also, FIG. 4C illustrates a polyhedral structure to which 5G arrayantennas of an antenna system loaded in a vehicle are attached, and anarray antenna, according to the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4A to 4C, an antenna system loaded in a vehicleaccording to the present invention includes a first antenna system 1100and a second antenna system 1200.

In this regard, the first antenna system 1100 includes a plurality offirst antenna elements 1110 and 1120 disposed in a structure loaded inthe vehicle to perform a multiple input multiple output (MIMO). On theother hand, the second antenna system 1200 includes a plurality ofsecond antenna elements 1211 to 1214 attached to side surfaces of apolyhedron 1210 a disposed in the structure so as to performbeamforming.

The plurality of first antenna elements 1110 and 1120 may be disposed ona substrate, which is erected on the structure at a predetermined angle,at the front and rear of the polyhedron 1210 a. At this time, thesubstrate on which the plurality of first antenna elements 1110 and 1120are disposed may be formed perpendicular to a lower structure inconsideration of coupling with the lower structure and antenna radiationcharacteristics.

On the other hand, FIGS. 5A to 5C are views illustrating an antennasystem and a radome structure in accordance with various embodiments ofthe present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 4A to 4C, and 5A to 5C, a structure 2110 a, 2120a, 2110 b, 2120 b, 2110 c of the antenna system mounted in the vehicleaccording to the present invention may be configured as a radome in ashape of a shark fin (shark fin-shaped radome).

In detail, referring to FIG. 4C, the plurality of second antennaelements includes first to fourth array antennas 1211 to 1214 attachedto four side surfaces S1 to S4 of the polyhedron 1210 a. At this time,the first to fourth array antennas 1211 to 1214 may operate to transmitor receive a second signal in a fifth generation (5G) communicationsystem. On the other hand, the first to fourth array antennas 1211 to1214 may be configured to perform a MIMO operation, or may be configuredto cover different directions in an azimuth direction.

A first side surface and a second side surface of the polyhedron 1210 amay be arranged to form a first angle α which is a predetermined angleformed in left and right directions with respect to one point of asymmetric line of a bottom surface of the structure. A third sidesurface and a fourth side surface of the polyhedron 1210 a may bearranged to form a second angle β which is a predetermined angle formedin the left and right directions with respect to another point of thesymmetric line. In this regard, the first to fourth array antennas 1211to 1214 may be disposed on the first to fourth side surfaces.

At this time, the first angle α and the second angle β may be set todifferent values depending on applications. For example, since signaltransmission/reception at the front of the vehicle is more importantthan signal transmission/reception at the rear of the vehicle, the firstangle α may be set to be greater than the second angle β. Accordingly,when the first angle α is greater, the first and second array antennas1211 and 1212 may illuminate a relatively front side and receive signalsfrom the front side.

On the other hand, when the first angle α is smaller, beam coverages ofthe first and second array antennas 1211 and 1212 may extend to sides,respectively, so that the first and second array antennas can receivesignals from the sides, in addition to the front side. However, when thefirst angle α is smaller, the beam coverages of the first and secondarray antennas 1211 and 1212 less overlap each other at the front side.

Further, the first angle α and the second angle β may be determined inconsideration of interference with the first and second LTE antennas1110 and 1120. For example, the first angle α may be determined inconsideration of interference with the first LTE antenna 1110 attachedto a first substrate. Also, the second angle β may be determined inconsideration of interference with the second LTE antenna 1120 attachedto a second substrate.

Specifically, in order to reduce the interference with the first andsecond LTE antennas 1110 and 1120, the first angle α and the secondangle β may be set to small values. This may result in reducing a widthof the polyhedron 1210 a in a lateral direction, and reducinginterference between different antenna systems. However, since the firstand second array antennas 1211 and 1212 cover the sides rather than thefront side, the signal transmission/reception performance at the frontof the vehicle may be slightly lowered.

On the other hand, referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, an interface may beformed between the side surfaces of the polyhedron 1210 a. Specifically,a first interface may be formed between the first side surface and thesecond side surface of the polyhedron 1210 a, and a second interface maybe formed between the third side surface and the fourth side surface.

At this time, substrates of different antennas may be disposed on areasof the first and second interfaces. Specifically, a width of the firstinterface may be set wider than a width of a first substrate (which isperpendicularly erected on the structure) disposed at the front of thepolyhedron 1210 a. In addition, a width of the second interface may beset to be wider than a width of a second substrate (which isperpendicularly erected on the structure) disposed at the rear of thepolyhedron 1210 a. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, the first andsecond substrates are not recognized as obstacles in front and rearviewable areas of the polyhedron 1210 a. Accordingly, interferencebetween antennas of a plurality of different antenna systems can bereduced.

Meanwhile, the antenna system loaded in the vehicle according to thepresent invention may be provided with a plurality of antennas providingvarious functions, in addition to the LTE antenna and the 5G antenna. Itis important that the plurality of antennas providing such variousfunctions is optimally placed so as to minimize interference with theexisting LTE antenna and 5G antenna.

In this regard, the antenna system loaded in the vehicle according tothe present invention may include a GPS antenna 1510, a satellitebroadcasting (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting; DMB) antenna 1520, an FMreceiving antenna 1530, and the like. However, the present invention isnot limited to these antennas, and various antennas may be disposeddepending on applications.

Specifically, the satellite broadcasting (DMB) antenna 1520 may beattached to a third substrate perpendicularly erected on the structure,between the first LTE antenna 1110 and the polyhedron 1210 a. At thistime, an operating frequency band of the satellite broadcasting (DMB)antenna 1520 is different from those of the LTE antenna and the 5Gantenna, and no interference is caused between these antennas.

On the other hand, the FM receiving antenna 1530 may be attached to afourth substrate perpendicularly erected on the structure, between thesecond LTE antenna 1120 and the polyhedron 1210 a. At this time, anoperating frequency band of the FM receiving antenna 1530 is differentfrom the operating frequency bands of the LTE antenna and the 5Gantenna, and no interference is caused between these antennas.

Meanwhile, the GPS antenna 1510 may be disposed at the front of thesatellite broadcast (DMB) antenna 1520. In this regard, it is importantto recognize a position of the vehicle according to a reception of a GPSsignal, and thus interference between different antennas should beconsidered. In particular, back-off of transmission power through theLTE antenna must be performed when the GPS signal is received.

In addition, the GPS antenna 1510 is disposed at the foremost of thestructure loaded in the vehicle, which may result in minimizing aproblem that the GPS antenna 1510 is minimized from being obscured dueto other antennas or structures. Further, unlike other antennas, the GPSantenna 1510 is arranged on the bottom surface of the structure, whichmay result in minimizing interference with other antennas. To this end,the GPS antenna may be configured as a patch antenna printed on asubstrate disposed on a bottom surface of the structure.

Meanwhile, the antenna system loaded in the vehicle according to thepresent invention may further be provided with another type of antennaoperating in the 5G communication system. In this regard, referring toFIGS. 4A and 4B, a plurality of third antenna elements 1130 to 1160 mayadditionally be disposed inside the structure. Specifically, theplurality of third antenna elements 1130 to 1160 may be disposed on aplurality of substrates, respectively, which are erected perpendicularlyon the bottom surface of the structure with being spaced apart from thefour side surfaces of the polyhedron 1210 a, respectively, bypredetermined distances.

In relation to the 5G antenna, the plurality of second antenna elements1210 including the first to fourth array antennas 1211 to 1214, whichoperate in the aforementioned millimeter wave (mmWave) band, alsooperates in the millimeter wave (mmWave) band. On the other hand, theplurality of third antenna elements 1130 to 1160 may include first tofourth sub-6 antennas 1130 to 1160 which operate in a sub-6 band of 6GHz or less.

At this time, the first to fourth sub-6 antennas 1130 to 1160 may alsooperate in an LTE band in addition to the sub-6 band. Accordingly, thefirst to fourth sub-6 antennas 1130 to 1160 may transmit or receive afirst signal of a first communication system, which is an LTEcommunication system, in a first frequency band. In addition, the firstto fourth sub-6 antennas 1130 to 1160 may transmit or receive a secondsignal in a second communication system, which is a 5G communicationsystem, in a second frequency band different from the first frequencyband.

On the other hand, the first to fourth sub-6 antennas 1130 to 1160disposed on an outer portion of the structure where the antennas aredisposed should be arranged in a manner that an influence on propagationloss characteristics and the like by the radome is minimized.Accordingly, the plurality of substrates on which the first to fourthsub-6 antennas 1130 to 1160 are disposed may be provided in a mannerthat the outermost portions thereof are located on the bottom surface ofthe shark fin-shaped structure inside the structure.

Hereinafter, an antenna system loaded in a vehicle according to anotheraspect of the present invention will be described. In this regard, FIG.6 is a view illustrating an antenna system loaded in a vehicle having aplurality of structures in accordance with various embodiments of thepresent invention. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 6, an antenna system loadedin a vehicle includes a first antenna system 1100 and a second antennasystem 1200.

In this regard, the first antenna system 1100 is configured such that afirst antenna element disposed in a first structure 2100 mounted in thevehicle transmits or receives a first signal. On the other hand, thesecond antenna system 1200 is configured such that a plurality of secondantenna elements disposed in a second structure 2200 transmits orreceives a second signal. At this time, the second structure 2200 may beseparated (or spaced apart) from the first structure 2100 and attachedto an antenna system separately loaded in the vehicle. Alternatively,the second structure 2200 may be configured as a module separated fromthe first structure 2100, and the first structure 2100 and the secondstructure 2200 may be assembled into a single antenna system.

On the other hand, referring to FIGS. 4A to 4C and FIGS. 5A to 5C, theplurality of first antenna elements 1110 and 1120 may be provided on thesubstrate which is erected (set) at a predetermined angle within thefirst structure 2100.

At this time, the first structure 2100 is configured as a sharkfin-shaped radome, and the second structure 2200 may be provided with acoupling portion to which the shark fin-shaped radome can be attached.

Meanwhile, the first to fourth array antennas, which are the pluralityof second antenna elements, may be disposed in a flat structure of thesecond structure 2200. The first to fourth array antennas may operate totransmit or receive the second signal through beamforming in the 5Gcommunication system. At this time, the first to fourth array antennasmay be configured as flat patch antennas instead of a shape attached tothe polyhedron 1210 a as illustrated in FIG. 4C, in order to be disposedwithin the flat structure.

Meanwhile, the second antenna system 1200 as well as the first to fourtharray antennas may be disposed in the second structure 2200. Inaddition, a telematics module or a communication module corresponding toa communication system 1300 may be provided in the second structure2200. The communication system 1300 and a controller (processor)controlling the same may allow communication using a heterogeneouscommunication system to be performed in the vehicle through the firstantenna system 1100 and the second antenna system 1200.

On the other hand, referring to FIGS. 4A, 4B and 6, a first substrateand a second substrate, on which the first antenna element 1110 and thesecond antenna element 1210 are printed, may be arranged to beperpendicular to a bottom surface of the first structure 2100 within thefirst structure 2100. Accordingly, the first substrate and the secondsubstrate can be arranged in a lengthwise direction of the firststructure 2100, thereby minimizing a width of the first structure 2100.The first structure 2100 having the minimized width can also be reducedin length as the 5G array antennas are disposed in the separate secondstructure 2200. Accordingly, there is an advantage in that a volume ofthe shark fin-shaped first structure 2100 protruding to outside of thevehicle is reduced.

On the other hand, as described above, the plurality of antennasperforming various different functions may be disposed in the firststructure. In this regard, the satellite broadcasting (DMB) antenna 1520attached to a third substrate, which is perpendicularly erected on thefirst structure 2100, may be disposed at the rear of the first antennaelement 1110 within the first structure 2100.

Also, the FM receiving antenna 1530 attached to a fourth substrate,which is perpendicularly erected on the first structure 2100, may befurther disposed at the rear of the satellite broadcasting (DMB) antenna1520 within the first structure 2100. In addition, the GPS antenna 1510may be further disposed at the front of the satellite broadcasting (DMB)antenna 1520 and the first antenna element 1110. At this time, asdescribed above, the GPS antenna 1510 may be configured as the patchantenna printed on the substrate disposed on the bottom surface of thefirst structure 2100.

Referring to FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 6, the first structure 2100 correspondingto the shark fin-shaped radome may include a base radome 2110 a, 2110 band an upper radome 2120 a, 2120 b.

Specifically, the base radome 2110 a, 2110 b is configured to be coupledto the bottom surface of the second structure 2200. The upper radome2120 a, 2120 b may be formed integrally with the base radome 2110 a,2110 b.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the upper radome 2120 b may be formed in a curvedshape to accommodate the polyhedral structure 1210 a. On the other hand,referring to FIG. 5A, the polyhedral structure 1210 a is not disposed.Accordingly, the upper radome 2120 a may be formed in a curved shapecorresponding to a shape in which the satellite broadcasting (DMB)antenna 1520 is accommodated at a corresponding position.

In addition, the first structure 2100 may further include a flat portion2130 a, 2130 b, 2130 c on an upper portion thereof. At this time, theflat portion 2130 a, 2130 b, 2130 c has a central portion formed in aflat shape in order to prevent scattering of radio waves in the vicinityof an upper central portion of the upper radome 2110 a, 2110 b, 2110 c.

Referring to FIG. 5C and FIG. 6, the first structure 2100 may beconfigured as one radome 2110 c with one curved shape, other thandifferent curved shapes like the base radome and the upper radome.

The foregoing description has been given of an antenna system loaded ina vehicle having first and second antenna systems, and moreparticularly, an antenna system loaded in a shark fin-shaped radome.

With the configuration and the antenna arrangement structure, thepresent invention can provide a flat vehicle antenna capable ofproviding not only existing mobile communication services but also nextgeneration communication services, a design thereof, and a controlmethod thereof.

Hereinafter, effects of an antenna system loaded in a vehicle and amethod of controlling the same according to the present invention willbe described.

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, it ispossible to provide an antenna arrangement structure in which isolationcharacteristics between antenna elements are optimized in a flat vehicleantenna having an LTE antenna system and a 5G antenna system.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the presentinvention, the present invention provides a module-type flat vehicleantenna system in which various basic structures of the flat vehicleantenna system can extend to an extended structure.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the detailed description and specificexamples, such as the preferred embodiment of the invention, are givenby way of illustration only, since various changes and modificationswithin the spirit and scope of the invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art.

The antenna system and the controller (modem or application processor)controlling the same can be implemented as computer-readable codes in aprogram-recorded medium. The computer-readable medium may include alltypes of recording devices each storing data readable by a computersystem. Examples of such computer-readable media may include hard diskdrive (HDD), solid state disk (SSD), silicon disk drive (SDD), ROM, RAM,CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage element and thelike. Also, the computer-readable medium may also be implemented as aformat of carrier wave (e.g., transmission via an Internet). Thecomputer may include the controller of the terminal. Therefore, itshould also be understood that the above-described embodiments are notlimited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unlessotherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within itsscope as defined in the appended claims, Therefore, all changes andmodifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, orequivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to beembraced by the appended claims.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. An antenna system for a vehicle, comprising: afirst structure configured to be mounted on a roof of the vehicle; asecond structure configured to be spaced apart from the first structureand separately mounted to the vehicle, the first structure and thesecond structure being configured to be connected together to provide anintegrated antenna system; a first antenna system disposed within thefirst structure, the first antenna system including a plurality of firstantenna elements that are configured to (i) transmit and receive a firstsignal and (ii) perform Multi Input Multi Output (MIMO) communication;and an additional antenna element disposed in the second structure andconfigured to transmit and receive a second signal, wherein theplurality of first antenna elements are configured to be positionedabove a roof of the vehicle, and wherein the additional antenna elementis configured to be positioned at least partially within the roof of thevehicle.
 22. The antenna system of claim 21, wherein the first antennasystem includes a first MIMO antenna and a second MIMO antenna, andwherein the first MIMO antenna and the second MIMO antenna are spacedapart from each other and located at front and rear sides in alengthwise direction of the first structure, respectively.
 23. Theantenna system of claim 22, wherein the second structure furtherincludes a telematics module configured to allow communication throughthe first antenna system via the first antenna elements in the firststructure or the additional antenna element in the second structure orboth.
 24. The antenna system of claim 23, further comprising a secondantenna system having a plurality of second antenna elements that areattached to side surfaces of a polyhedron that is disposed inside thefirst structure, the plurality of second antenna elements beingconfigured to perform beamforming, wherein the first MIMO antenna islocated at a front side of the polyhedron within the first structure.25. The antenna system of claim 24, further comprising a first substrateand a second substrate that are arranged within the first structure,wherein the second MIMO antenna is located at a rear side of thepolyhedron within the first structure, and wherein the first MIMOantenna and the second MIMO antenna are attached to at least one surfaceof the first and second substrates, respectively.
 26. The antenna systemof claim 24, wherein the plurality of second antenna elements areconfigured to operate in a millimeter wave (mmWave) band, and whereinthe telematics module is configured to allow communication through thefirst antenna system and second antenna system.
 27. The antenna systemof claim 24, wherein an interface area between two adjacent sidesurfaces of the polyhedron is oriented to face a front or a rear side ofthe polyhedron.
 28. The antenna system of claim 24, wherein the sidesurfaces of the polyhedron are oriented at a predetermined angle in anelevation direction with respect to a bottom surface of the firststructure.
 29. The antenna system of claim 27, wherein the polyhedronincludes (i) first and second side surfaces that form a first anglebetween them in an azimuth direction and (ii) third and fourth sidesurfaces that form a second angle between them in the azimuth direction,and wherein the first angle and the second angle are determined so as tominimize interference between the second antenna system and the firstand second MIMO antennas.
 30. The antenna system of claim 27, wherein awidth of the interface area is greater than a width of first and secondsubstrates to which the first MIMO antenna and the second MIMO antennaare attached.
 31. An antenna system for a vehicle, comprising: a firstantenna system disposed within a structure and configured to transmitand receive radio signals in a first communication system, the structurebeing configured to be mounted to the vehicle; and a second antennasystem having a plurality of second antenna elements that are attachedto side surfaces of a polyhedron that is disposed inside the structure,the plurality of second antenna elements being configured to performbeamforming in a second communication system, wherein the first antennasystem is configured to be disposed within a roof of the vehicle and totransmit and receive radio signals through a non-metallic region of theroof.
 32. The antenna system of claim 31, wherein the first antennasystem is configured to transmit and receive radio signals through adielectric region of the roof of the vehicle.
 33. The antenna system ofclaim 31, wherein the second antenna system is configured to be disposedat the non-metallic region of the roof.
 34. The antenna system of claim31, wherein the second antenna system is configured to be disposed at ametallic region of the roof.
 35. The antenna system of claim 31, whereinthe structure is a shark fin-shaped radome, and the second antennasystem is disposed inside the structure.
 36. The antenna system of claim31, wherein the plurality of second antenna elements are configured tooperate in a millimeter wave (mmWave) band.
 37. The antenna system ofclaim 31, wherein an interface area between two adjacent side surfacesof the polyhedron is oriented to face a front or a rear side of thepolyhedron.
 38. The antenna system of claim 31, wherein the sidesurfaces of the polyhedron are oriented at a predetermined angle in anelevation direction with respect to a bottom surface of the structure.39. The antenna system of claim 36, wherein the polyhedron includes (i)first and second side surfaces that form a first angle between them inan azimuth direction and (ii) third and fourth side surfaces that form asecond angle between them in the azimuth direction, and wherein thefirst angle and the second angle are determined so as to minimizeinterference between the second antenna system and the first and secondantennas.
 40. The antenna system of claim 37, wherein a width of theinterface area is greater than a width of first and second substrates towhich the first antenna and the second antenna are attached.